A Letter from Chancellor Dan Jones

We all love the lore of hidden treasure. And some of the best “hidden” treasures are often hidden in plain sight. Such is the case, we believe, with many of the Treasures of Ole Miss.

The University of Mississippi is blessed with a wide variety of archival treasures that have been collected over the 162 year history of this great institution of higher learning. The crossroads of American history have often met here on this campus and left items that demonstrate the roles our professors and students have played in the history of this state, region, and nation.

We are proud of this collection and want to share it with the world. We hope this guide will be your map to find our Ole Miss Treasures. Please take some time to examine what we have and give us a visit.

Ole Miss Treasures

Housed in UM’s Archives and Special Collections are the notebooks and manuscript for author Barry Hannah’s novel, “Hey, Jack.” Author and UM Instructor Tom Franklin, who admired Barry Hannah long before working along side him at Ole Miss, shares what a gift it is to have these items.

Revolutionary War general Nathanael Greene’s letters are house at the University of Mississippi’s Archives and Special Collections. Included in the collection are letters from John Hancock, George Washington and other important Revolutionary War figures.

UM Archives houses letters written by Roane Fleming Byrnes, the Queen of the Natchez Trace. It was her effort to have the Trace set aside as parkway that has preserved it for future generations. Video by Mary Stanton & Erin Parsons.